A senior Washington Nationals executive was caught on hidden camera saying the baseball team sidelines pitcher Trevor Williams from team social media content because of his Catholic faith and past public criticism of anti-Catholic mockery, according to undercover video released May 26 by the O'Keefe Media Group (OMG).
Sean Hudson, the Nationals' director of community relations, was filmed by an undercover reporter and did not appear to know he was being recorded.
Alleged discrimination against Catholic pitcher Trevor Williams
Williams, a right-handed starting pitcher for the Nationals, is a devout Catholic who has spoken publicly about his faith.
In May 2023, he became one of the first MLB players to publicly condemn the Los Angeles Dodgers' decision to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a “Community Hero Award.” The radical drag performance group of “nuns” routinely mock the Catholic faith and engage in acts of desecration. The group’s actions have included staging a "Hunky Jesus" contest every Easter, burning the Pope in effigy, and equating a contraceptive with the Eucharist.
Williams called the group's performances "a blatant and deeply offensive mockery" of his religion and the faith of millions of Catholics who live in Los Angeles. His statement drew nearly 20 million views on X.
In the hidden-camera footage, Hudson linked that public statement to the team's decision to keep Williams out of certain promotional content.
"One of our pitchers, dude, Trevor Williams — he is very Catholic," Hudson said in the video. "The Dodgers had a group out to the stadium who were drag queens who sometimes dressed up as nuns. He went on social media like, 'This is wrong. It's my religion. You all are mocking it.' Because of that, we don't use him on social."
Hudson gave a specific example of the kind of content Williams is excluded from: casual, lighthearted player posts asking questions such as "Is a hot dog a sandwich?"
"The players come up — we don't ask him," Hudson said.
In the OMG video report, the narrators said the team’s treatment of Williams may constitute a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against employees based on their religion. No lawsuit or investigation had been confirmed as of the video's release.
Fan surveillance
Hudson also described a data-collection operation the Nationals use on their fans.
"If you ever come to a Nats game, there is someone on our team who is responsible for figuring out everything about you," Hudson said in the video.
He described a system that tracks fans’ purchasing habits, game selections, and online behavior, then sorts fans into categories — or "buckets" — to target them with tailored content.
"If you're accepting cookies, we're getting your — a plethora of your Google history," Hudson said.
A narrator in the video report advised fans who have downloaded MLB or Nationals Park apps, or connected to the stadium's Wi-Fi, to disable cookies. Data collection through cookies and digital ticketing platforms is common across sports and entertainment, though Hudson's remarks drew attention for his candor and the practice’s scope.
Hudson’s self-proclaimed communist political views
Hudson described himself in the video as "very far left-leaning" and said there is a "Join the Communist Party" poster hanging in his kitchen. He said discussions about left-leaning politics are common at work events, including his boss's holiday party.
He floated the idea of using Nationals home runs as a vehicle for wealth redistribution — suggesting a $100 charitable donation for every home run — and described the concept himself as "communism."
"That's redistributing someone's wealth," Hudson said. "I hope we get there."
Hudson acknowledged that many fans attend baseball games to escape political conversations, but expressed indifference to their frustration.
"A lot of people will tell you, 'When I come to a baseball game, I don't want to think about that,'" Hudson said. "If you're a sports fan and we piss you off, where else are you going to go? Either way, I don't give a ——."
Segregated meetings and other admissions
Hudson also described conversations with the Nationals' vice president of human resources about whether non-LGBT employees should be allowed to attend LGBT employee resource group meetings.
"They would be well within their rights to say, if you don't identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ population, you shouldn't be at this specific meeting," Hudson said.
He separately admitted telling players — whom the video's narrators described as conservative — who asked to meet Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a visit to Nationals Park that Hegseth had already left when he had not. Hudson said he had met Hegseth three times and described him as having "no charisma" and being "unimpressive each time."
Hudson also described efforts to use Nationals Park events to facilitate introductions between Hegseth and executives from defense companies with the goal of generating revenue for the organization if government contracts followed.
"We're trying to use baseball to make money," Hudson said. "And a lot of that is defense contractors, the Palantirs of the world."